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 Strategic Planning Update - June, 2006 This is the first of what will be a regular report distributed every four to six weeks updating community members on the strategic planning implementation process. It will be sent to all members of the College-Institute community. During the month of May, the strategic planning implementation process continued to focus on communication and key initiatives in the areas of academic excellence, financial sustainability and technology. Various meetings were convened for discussion of the issues related to strategic planning, to ensure wider understanding of the process and broader participation. Committee membership has been expanded, and some committees held initial meetings to begin discussion of their areas. For your reference, committee lists follow the text of this message. Community Participation and Consultation In the interest of creating a more transparent process with wider involvement of critical parties, faculty meetings were held on each of our stateside campuses, to review the fiscal situation of the College-Institute and discuss the role of community members in the strategic planning process. Rabbis David Ellenson, Norman Cohen and Aaron Panken, along with Governors Burt Lehman, Barbara Friedman, Fred Lane, Jerry Lerner, Howard Bernstein and Robin Harvey participated in these meetings. Topics discussed included the current financial situation of the College-Institute, the current pension and benefit plans and their impact on the future finances of the College-Institute, plans for the assessment study with consultants Bell & Trice and the structure and timing of committee work related to strategic planning implementation. Faculty members discussed their roles, asked questions and offered input relating to the process. Rabbis Michael Marmur and Naamah Kelman also held a similar meeting to discuss the process with the Jerusalem campus faculty, ensuring that they are up to date. In addition, the faculty from the Jerusalem campus joined key administrators and governors for a special faculty meeting at the faculty retreat in Lisle, Il, on June 12th, to update them on developments and discuss their role and involvement in the process. Also at the faculty retreat, faculty members from all campuses took part in seven discussions that centered on topics critical to the ongoing process of implementation. These areas included Defining Excellence, Library, Technology, Leadership Preparation, Recruitment, The Graduate School and Graduate Programs and Education Programs. These discussions served to gather faculty input into the various areas discussed, which will be shared with the appropriate committees as the implementation continues. Assessment of Operations In April, consulting firms were interviewed for an assessment study that would focus on the three stateside campuses. The goal of the assessment study is to review operations at the three stateside campuses with an eye towards suggesting potential areas for budget reductions that would allow the College-Institute to achieve a balanced budget. Four consulting firms with expertise in higher education met with the committee, two large consulting firms with a broad array of services available, and two smaller boutique firms with specific expertise in higher education. The committee selected Bell & Trice, a Washington, DC, based consultancy that came highly recommended and impressed the committee greatly. The committee interviewing consultants consisted of three faculty members from our stateside campuses (Drs. Rachel Adler, Rick Sarason and Martin Cohen; Governors Jerry Lerner (Chair of the committee), Mark Biderman, Howard Bernstein; Gary Bockelman, Michael Cheney and Erica Frederick from the administration; and Dr. David Ellenson, Dr. Aaron Panken, Burt Lehman and Barbara Friedman, ex officio. During the month of May, the consultants began their work by attending faculty meetings on each campus to introduce themselves and discuss their work plan. Meetings were held with faculty, staff and students in New York on May 30-31 and in Los Angeles during the first week in June. Bell & Trice's team will travel to Cincinnati during the second week of June. On each campus, they will be meeting with groups of individuals from all areas of the institution. They have also distributed questionnaires to all faculty and staff, and will meet with focus groups of students on each campus, soliciting input on areas that deserve consideration in the pursuit of a balanced fiscal picture. After Bell & Trice's team completes their visits, they will then analyze and review all the data collected. Preliminary suggestions will be formulated and vetted with members of the senior administration. Then, a final matrix of suggested possible areas for reductions (and the particular pros and cons of each) will be delivered to Dr. Ellenson by the end of August. These recommendations will be reviewed by Dr. Ellenson and the administration in preparation for the November Governors meeting in Cincinnati, with the goal of achieving financial sustainability. Concurrently, Mike Cheney and his staff in the National Business Office are planning a five-year budget projection based on current activities, and thoughtful estimations of future expense growth. This will allow both Bell & Trice and the senior administration to base decisions on the most complete set of data, and will help immensely with future planning. Academic Programs The Strategic Planning Academic Program Committee, chaired by Dr. Norman Cohen and Sheila Lambert, will begin meeting this summer. It consists of faculty from all four campuses and Fred Lane, the chair of the Governors committee on Academic Affairs. This committee will be responsible (or will work with a particular committee or responsible party) for evaluation and planning regarding all areas related to academic excellence and program planning outlined in the strategic planning report. Technology Discussion has begun with our National Director of Information Technology, John Bruggeman, and our National Director of Distance Learning, Gregg Alpert, as well as other key leaders in technology, on a plan for implementing upgrades in technology. Areas of focus include exploring the potential for the use of electronic classrooms to foster teaching across campuses to better share our faculty resources with all our students; creating a student information system that would allow streamlined registration, recruitment, alumni contact, student billing and transcript management for students across all campuses; the piloting, next fall, of at least one mini-course taught to graduating seniors across our campuses by Dr. David Ellenson; and exploration of a potential web portal, available to students, faculty, supporters and alumni, that would provide online access to key Judaica resources from anywhere in the world. Greater web presence, including recruitment and library links on hundreds of congregational websites are also in the works, as a way to build visibility for the College-Institute. As another experiment, a lecture by Ambassador Dennis Ross, given at the New York campus, has been set up on our website and is available for viewing see the website at www.huc.edu/newspubs/streaming. A task force is being established to vet technology plans and begin some implementation in the short range (thus, before October 2006). A complete technology plan is in the works, to be completed this summer. Strategic Planning Financial Sustainability Committee This committee, chaired by Gary Bockelman, Mike Cheney and Jerry Lerner, will become the central address for considering budget questions and long-term projections, especially once the assessment study is completed and the senior administration evaluates the recommendations of the consultants. Pension Planning A number of serious financial challenges have arisen from the current defined benefits pension plan of the College-Institute. In an effort to achieve financial sustainability, Gary Bockelman and Mike Cheney are now working closely with Jerry Lerner, Chair of the Governors Benefits Committee, and three representatives of the faculty (Drs. David Aaron, Marla Abraham and S. David Sperling) to review options for shifting the pension plan to a defined contributions plan. Ongoing consultations are expected, with presentation of the new plan expected during the fall of 2006, for implementation by January 1, 2007. The new plan should provide more portability and flexibility in investment options for employees, while providing more long term budget predictability for the College-Institute. We look forward to reporting further developments to you each month as the strategic planning implementation continues. Please do not hesitate to be in touch should you have any questions or concerns. Warm regards for a relaxing and fulfilling summer, Dr. David Ellenson, President Burt Lehman, Chair, Board of Governors Barbara Friedman, Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Implementation Committee Dr. Aaron Panken, Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Implementation Committee Strategic Planning Implementation Committees (as of 6/14/2006) Strategic Planning Implementation Committee Dr. Aaron Panken and Barbara Friedman, chairs The role of this committee is to provide overall oversight of the implementation process, by supervising the work of the three subcommittees (Academic, Financial Sustainability and Future and Vision) and advancing the process of implementation in a timely way.
Strategic Planning Implementation Academic Program Committee Dr. Norman Cohen and Sheila Lambert, chairs The role of this committee is to provide oversight of the implementation process where it focuses on academic programs, including working with faculty to create program reviews and Dr. Alyssa Gray Dr. Sam Joseph Fred Lane Dr. David Levine Dr. Dvora Weisberg Barbara Friedman, ex officio Dr. Aaron Panken, ex officio Strategic Planning Committee on Financial Sustainability Gary Bockelman, Mike Cheney and Jerry Lerner, chairs The role of this committee is to provide oversight of the implementation process where it focuses on financial sustainability. Dr. Rachel Adler Howard Bernstein Mark Biderman Dr. Martin Cohen Erica Frederick Dr. Rick Sarason Barbara Friedman, ex officio Dr. Aaron Panken, ex officio Future and Vision Committee Dr. David Ellenson, Nicki Tanner and Terry Rosenberg, chairs The role of this committee is to consider avenues of work that expand and define an appropriate vision for the College-Institute's future work. Dr. Steven Cohen Dr. Sharon Gillerman Dr. Nina Hanan Dr. Michael Marmur Dr. Mark Washofsky Barbara Friedman, ex officio Dr. Aaron Panken, ex officio |
